Katonah-Lewisboro Continues Quest To Find New Mascot

CROSS RIVER, NY — The Katonah-Lewisboro Mascot Steering Committee will be holding a public meeting. The session is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday in the John Jay Middle School dining room.

Christian McCarthy, the district's director of health, athletics, physical education and wellness, said it will be an opportunity for all community members, including staff, students, alumni and parents, to discuss what they want in a new mascot.

"People will also have an opportunity to share their mascot ideas," McCarthy said.

McCarthy is one of three administrators leading the committee, along with John Jay High School Principal Steven Siciliano and John Jay Middle School Principal Jeff Swiatowicz.

The 18-member committee also includes three staff — two coaches and a teacher — three parents, who represent the Boosters Club, the Athletic Council and a PTO, and six high school and three middle school students.

The committee met Jan. 15 to determine the best process for identifying a school mascot and the following schedule:

• Jan. 30: brainstorming session on new mascot criteria and ideas as well as ways to respectfully retire the current mascot
• February and March: the steering committee will review community suggestions and ideas
• First week of April: gather input from students in grades six through 12 and staff on top ideas
• April 21: Board of Education meeting — the steering committee will recommend a mascot

One mascot criterion the steering committee wanted to explore was a local connection. It invited Lewisboro Town Historian Maureen Koehl to speak to the group on Jan. 15. She reviewed some of the animals native to the area.

“What we’re really known for are our lakes and our most famous resident, John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the United States,” Koehl said.

McCarthy passed out a list of mascots already taken by schools that John Jay’s athletic teams competed with. He reiterated the ground rules for any mascot: nothing that evokes race, religion, or weapons.

“We want something that brings us together, that we want our students to embody — a mascot that we can all be excited about,” McCarthy said.